Label-holder for freight-cars



(No Model.)

M. WILLIAMS.

LABEL HOLDER FOR FREIGHT CARS. No. 426,349. Patented Apr. 22. 1890.

INVENTOH:

WITNESSES V A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARTIN WVILLIAMS, OF ST. J OHNSVILLE, NEW YORK.

LABEL-HOLDER FOR FREIGHT-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 426,349, dated April 22, 1890. Application filed January 15, 1890- Serial No. 336,985. 7 (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, ll/IARTIN WILLIAMS, of St. Johnsville, in the county of Montgomery and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Label-Holder for Freight-Oars, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of devices employed to receive, retain removably, and display a destinationcard or similar label, and thus avoid nailing such cards upon the sides of the car, the objects being to provide a device of the genus named, which will be cheap, substantial, and efficient in use, permitting the quick insertion of a card-label within the receiving-frame of the device and there retain it till designedly removed.

To these ends my invention consists in the construction of parts and their combinations, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of the device. Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same, taken on the line 00 0c in Fig. 1, showing the parts in the position they assume when a cardlabel is being inserted; and Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation taken on the line a: a: in Fig. 1, representing the device with a cardlabel fully inserted therein.

A rectangular frame A, of wood or metal, is provided, which is of proper size to receive the destination-card or other label it is to retain exposed to view. The parallel side ledges a, of equal thickness, are formed on or secured to the back piece A of the frame A, said ledges projecting sufficiently to receive and hold other parts of the device. A forwardly and downwardly inclined cap-board b is secured on the back piece A and ledges a, which projects sufficiently to afford protection to one or more cards within the frame A. A rocking guide and card supporter Bis provided, which consists of a single strand of wire bent into form and loosely journaled in the side ledges a near their lower ends.

The piece 13 is formed by producing two aligning integral journals 0 on the ends of the wire strand, which are each of a length to extend a short distance within the frame A when said ends are in place loosely supported in aligning perforations in the ledges a.

At (1 on each side of the frame the wire is downwardly bent,producing the limbs d, and at e return-bends are made, the upward extensions f thus afforded being outwardly inclined at a proper angle from the limbs (l', which latter are substantially perpendicular when in normal position, as shown in Fig. 1. The limbs d and f together form depending loops f, for the reception and support of label-cards, as will be further explained.

At .9 the Wire strand is bent toward the center of width of the frameA on each side horizontally a proper distance, and at g down wardly in a plane coincident with the inclination of the limbs f, the material then being given return bends at 9 forming the limbs h, that are spaced apart near the center of the frame A by the integral horizontal bar h, the limbs it being upright and of the same length with the mating limbs d. The construction of the piece B, as just described, provides four spaced aligning loops f f k W, that will all rock together on the end journals 0 in the frame A.

A spring-guide O is furnished and forms an important feature of the device. It is made of a single piece of wire,which should be elastic, and is bent at its center so as to fold the limbs i toward each other,which, diverging at a proper acute angle, are thereby spread apart near their lower terminals t,where the material is bent outwardly and laterally in the same line, thus affording a pair of oppositelyextended horizontal limbs in of such a relative length that their bent terminal ends may be inserted into perforations in the outer faces of the ledges a at opposite points near the journal ends of the rocking card-supporter B.

When in position, the spring-guide 0 should incline from its points of attachment to the ledges inwardly toward the back piece of the card-holder or frame A.

Across the front of the frame A, outside of the limbs 'i of the spring-guide C, a series of guard-rods m are secured in the ledges C6 of the frame, said rods being preferably spaced apart and so located as to prevent the accidental or intentional removal of label-cards laterally from beneath the spring-guide 0, they also limiting the outward movement of said guide.

The card-label holder being secured to the side of the car at a point convenient of access from the ground, cards are inserted by introducing the upper edge of the same between the horizontal limbs 70 of the spring-guide O and the outwardly-inclined limbs on the loops f h as represented in Fig. 2, which will rock the card-supporter B, so that the upper ends of these limbs will impinge on or nearly approach the back piece A of the frame A.

When the card-label D is fully inserted, it will rest with its lower edge upon the returnbends of the loops f 77?, as shown in Fig. 3, where it is secured from accidental displacement by the guide 0, which has directed it' into place, and when located properly the card-supporting piece B will rock outwardly and assume its normal position.

To remove a card D from the holder, it is taken hold of at its lower edge portion near its center of width and raised upward until its lower edge will be above'the horizontal bars or limbs 70, the divergence of the limbs i on the spring-guide O permitting the fingers of the operator to retain their grasp on the card. The card-supporting piece 13 is now rocked to cause its parts to incline as shown in Fig. 2, when a downward-pulling movement of the card will abstract it from the holder.

Any desired number of cards within the receiving capacity of the holder may be inserted and retained therein, and it is evident that this insertion and removal of one or more card-labels may be speedily effected by a single upward and downward movement of labels,which is journaled to rock on the frame and release the card, and a spring-guide for the card, having horizontal limbs which engage the frame near its side edges, substantially as set forth.

2. In a label-holder, the combination, with a frame having side ledges and a cap-piece, of a rocking card-label supporter made of wire and adapted to release a card when rocked toward the back of the frame, and a spring-guide secured by its ends to the side ledges of the frame,which directs a card into the holder andretains it from accidental displacement, substantially as set forth.

3. In a label-holder, the combination, with a rectangular frame having parallel side ledges and a forwardly and downwardly inclined cap-piece and a series of spaced guardrods across its front, of a card-label support made of a single piece of wire bent intocardsupporting loops and provided with journals on its ends that loosely engage the ledges of the frame, and a spring-wire guard-piece which is secured by its horizontal limbs to the ledges of the frame and has upwardlyprojecting integral limbs which lie behind the guard-rods and are spread apart at their lower end portions to permit a card to be gripped manually and removed from the holder, substantially as set forth. 1 MARTIN WILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

CHARLES EIGENBROAETT, OTIS WILLIAMs. 

